Tag Archives: the parting glass

Now, as I was born in 1965, there were a few records that I think of as being the earliest music that I can recall. This group includes a couple of albums by the late great Cape Breton singer John Allan Cameron. Another is definitely, the Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem “In Person At Carnegie Hall”, which includes their version of “The Parting Glass”. The middle verse is excluded from the live version.

Of all the money that e’er I spent [or, e’er I had]I’ve spent it in good company And all the harm that ever I did Alas it was to none but me And all I’ve done for want of wit To memory now I can’t recall So fill to me the parting glass Good night and joy be with you all

If I had money enough to spend And leisure to sit awhileThere is a fair maid in the town That sorely has my heart beguiled Her rosy cheeks and ruby lips I own she has my heart enthralled So fill to me the parting glass Good night and joy be with you all

Oh, all the comrades that e’er I had They’re sorry for my going away And all the sweethearts that e’er I had They’d wish me one more day to stay But since it falls unto my lot That I should rise and you should not I’ll gently rise and softly call Good night and joy be with you all

The song’s been on my mind recently. First, I’ve been learning to play it on the fiddle. Next though, I’ve seen a few versions lately that include another verse, and that got me wondering about what the ‘standard/official’ version of the lyrics might be. If you don’t want to read further, the answer is that there is none. 😎

Briefly, the song appears to be of Scottish origin and dates to the 17th century. It was the most popular song in Scotland prior to Robert Burns’ “Auld Lang Syne”. The earliest version of the text, likely dating from 1654, is essentially a ‘thanks and goodnight’ at the end of a convivial gathering of neighbours and friends. It seems to have various meanings for different people, but for me it is a ‘good night and good luck’ song.

And it is interesting that, along with the parting ‘Good night and joy [‘God‘ in 1654] be with you all‘, the only other part that has survived through to the more popular modern versions is ‘And all I’ve done for want of wit, to memory now I can’t recall‘.

Now, the recent versions that come to mind are Ed Sheeran’s

and that of the University College Dublin (UCD) Choral Scholars

I wasn’t sure where that last verse comes from. According to this discussion at The Mudcat Cafe, it appears to come from a 2008 version by Len Graham.

A man may drink and not be drunk A man may fight and not be slain A man may court a pretty girl And perhaps be welcome back again. But as it has so ordered been Be a time to rise and a time to fall. So fill to me the parting glass Goodnight and joy be with you all.

To me, I don’t really care for that ‘a man may drink’ verse added to the CB&TM version. But it doesn’t matter. Who is to say that the version performed by Ed Sheeran and the UCD Choral Scholars will be a new ‘standard’ going forward.

The thing about this song is that it has changed and altered for nearly four hundred years. There is no true, standard version. Just sing it as you like. For me, it’s the two verses from In Person At Carnegie Hall.